Big test for baseball

They share a nickname, and Florida Atlantic now wants to share some of Rice's success.

"Rice has pulled off what every college baseball player in America wants," said Florida Atlantic coach Kevin Cooney, whose Owls face Rice today at 5:30 p.m. in the opening game of the Rice Invitational in Houston.

Rice (6-4) won the College World Series in 2003 and is ranked No. 6 in the country after starting the season as the consensus preseason No. 1 team. FAU is 9-0 and beat No. 17 Oklahoma State on Saturday to move up to No. 27 in one poll.

"This is such a great test for us," Cooney said. "This is a tremendous opportunity."

FAU will also play Nebraska (3-1) at 1 p.m. Sunday, and the Cornhuskers are ranked as high as No. 7 in one poll.

FAU plays Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (9-1) Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in the other game of the tournament.

That means FAU will have played three top-20 teams in a five-game stretch.

"Now teams are starting to realize we are for real. We just want to go out there and play well," said FAU second baseman Daniel Bomback, a junior from Davie who is hitting .500 with four home runs and 12 RBI.

Bomback is one of seven Owls hitters averaging .405 or better, as FAU has a team batting average of .403 and is averaging 13.1 runs per game.

"We're pretty confident about our hitting," said Bomback, who played at Broward Community College before transferring to FAU in the fall.

"Hitting is contagious. When the guy in front gets a hit you almost feel you have to live up to that," said Daniel Cook, whose .556 average leads the Owls.

Cook, a junior outfielder from Miami, said he expects FAU's bats to stay hot in Houston.

"We want to prove ourselves on a high level," Cook said.

Cooney said he is interested in seeing how his players respond because this is their first road trip of the season and they will face two top programs.

"I would be disappointed if we went out and didn't play well and acted intimidated or didn't handle the pressure," Cooney said. "There are high stakes for us in this series."

Post

Big test for baseball

You know its going to be a tough weekend when your "easy" game is against a redhot Texas A+M Corpus Christi team off to a 9-1 start. If we can take 2 of 3 and come home with an 11-1 record Id be real happy! Go FAU tonight!

Post

Big test for baseball

From Baseball America's weekend previews:

"Also keep an eye on the Rice Invitational, where Rice, Nebraska and a solid Florida Atlantic team will square off, along with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, which lost its first game (after a 9-0 start) at Texas-Pan American on Tuesday. FAU ace Mickey Storey will be a handful for Rice on Friday, and Saturday's Rice-Nebraska game should be a good one. That'll be a big test for impressive Rice freshman righthander Ryan Berry, who is 2-0, 1.08 through his first three starts."